#256 Saturday 14 May 2011

When showering last night Kaylia appeared to have an allergic reaction .... Then we realized that it was ant bites! Poor thing.




Well ... if yesterday's problems weren't enough, I now have a new one! It's 1:15am and I've just taken some of my strongest pain-killers .... not for my wrist this time! Last Christmas I had an ingrown toenail fixed and now 5 months later it has decided to cause problems! In the past 24 hrs it's gone from a mild soreness that was interesting .... to a raging pain that I can't sleep with ... and if it gets any worse, I'll have trouble walking on it!
Now we have two reasons to talk to BIMC!
Ah ... the drugs have just kicked in and I can feel the pain dropping off ... Phew!




Evening: We're at Mama Putu for num-num .... baik! Today has been good. Kaylia is in her 2nd day groove and she's happy again.
Zoe ... the ants were in the towels after the shower ..... and you're so right ... things would be much better if you were here!

The pain in the toe? ..... we now think it was a spider bite .... gee, it hurts!!!



(in the lane from the villa to the street)

Later: I'm at BIMC hospital .... I'm doing all the right things already ... Antibiotics, panadol forte ... just add Voltaren to the mix.... wait till we're home.

The doctor doesn't think that it is a bite .... so it will need to wait till I can see the doctor in Perth.

#255 Friday 13 May

Black Friday .... Black bat at Art Cafe .... breakfast. Kaylia & Ian have been in the pool since 6am .... wonderful!



7:30pm. The day started well ..... BUT ... by late morning Kaylia was highly anxious and making our life miserable. We learned a new calming technique .... it worked but left me wondering where the holiday had gone.
Naomi played the martyr role so that I could go off in the afternoon .... and she had a torrid time as a result. It will be my turn tomorrow .... Naomi badly needs some recovery time.

We're back at the same point we were at when we started Team Kaylee ..... wondering whether we can ever go on a holiday again. We're both terrified by the prospect of the return flight to Perth on Monday.

Kaylia loves the villa. She spent about 6 hours in the pool today. The villa is wonderful but it's a dream that probably won't happen as it looks as though Pete may not be able to complete the purchase .... it's been an exciting time as we contemplated the prospect of having a 'little place in Bali'.

#254 Thursday 12 May 2011

At the airport in departures ..... so far the signs are not good. It's always a debate of whether to come early or late .... today we were early and Virgin staff were late! So we had an hour wait for check-in. This meant walks for Kaylia and many explanations. Once through that hurdle Kaylia was ready for the plane! .... so we had to explain again .... passport land ... then customs land .... then plane!
All through this we're managing my pain, Kaylia's pain & anxiety. I would like to take some of the heavy-duty pain control ... but it makes me too dopey .... and we need both of us alert to handle Kaylia.

Naomi does a magnificent job of managing the process. Now we try to stop the volcano erupting for another 45 minutes till we board.







Managing Kaylia feels like carrying a volcano (which can erupt at any moment) along a narrow path with quicksand to either side.

Later: The trip was good for the first 3 hours .... then she had a bad anxiety attack and we had half an hour of Kaylia screaming and kicking .... We ran out of options and had to try to physically restrain her .... very hard to do! Once again we'd forgotten to dose her with the nighttime medicine so that she can handle the flight. We've resolved to create a checklist for flying so we can remember everything.

#253 Wednesday 11 May 2011

Last minutes .... don't they always get you? If something could go wrong today ...... IT DID!! Naomi is as sick as the proverbial ..... still managed to work herself silly though. She had to cancel all her appointments today she was that sick.

Oh ... her assignment that she slaved over last week? She got a high distinction (as usual). It's a good start to the holiday.

Kaylia has been happy ..


.. she knows that we're going on the plane ... she doesn't get 'over the top excited' but you can tell that she likes the idea.

#252 Tuesday 10 May 2011

The day began at 2am. Wet bed ... and she didn't go back to sleep. I drifted off to the sound of her dancing round downstairs and watching DVDs. She must have come upstairs at some point ços she was fast asleep in the morning!

Two sleeps to go.... The trouble with the concept of a holiday is that by the time you can go on holiday, you're too tired to benefit from it! I hope Kaylia handles the flight well .... we'll be prepared with ipads, DVD players, headphones, nibbles .... you name it, we've got it!

It will be very good to be back in the villa. We've bought our bed .... ready for Thursday night. Hopefully, Pete will have been able to get a mattress for us before we arrive!








Stop Press!! 8:30pm
We had just watched a TV program about "super bugs" and the need for hygiene ..... when Kaylia stood in front of us and had a sudden diarrhea attack!! It was out with the mops and hot hot water. I hope it was a once off event! Not good before a plane flight!

#251 Monday 9 May 2011

Kaylia is very happy this morning. We seem to be at a good balance (in all the factors involved) so that much of the time she is relaxed and happy. Since she's been on the same mix of medications for some months now, we can hope that the fluctuations in effect have stabilised.

Three more sleeps and we'll be on the big plane to Bali! .... assuming of course that Naomi survives the lead up stress!

Kaylia is watching Pocoyu before school and it's good to hear her answering the questions from the narrator. This DVD is one of her choices in the latest raids in Big-W ..... I'm looking forward to 'letting her loose' in the DVD shop in Bali!

#250 Sunday 8 May 2011

Mothers's Day. I know I'm biased but I do think that I'm very priviledged to have one of the best mothers in the world as my partner. Naomi is a constant source of wonder & joy. Kaylia seconds that!

It wasn't planned but it so happens that I'm currently re-reading the draft of an autobiography of my own mother .... it abounds in detail of life in a small farming community in the 1920-30's .... life has changed so much. Our community today is so much more wealthy financially .... but on a caring level? The disparity between the haves and have-nots is still as great .... but not as visible. The sheer numbers of people and the pace of life means that we just don't see the hardship that might be next to us.

Now someone was asking about what we're doing with Kaylia's therapy .... and what is her current language ability.

Unfortunately her therapy (which has made such a huge difference in her life) has been suspended temporarily .... mainly because of changes in the availability if therapists but also changes in our ability to fund the therapy. She hasn't had formal therapy since December. We have plans to change this and the sooner those plans come to fruition, the better!

We recently had a 'play-date'with one of Kaylia's friends and I was blown away by the way the 6 year old friend was able to discuss grammar and current events!

Stop press .... friends are here .... Kaylia has a new toy!


She has to blow carefully to balance the ball ....